[day 147; open]

[somereliance]

Who: John Watson and Open
When: Day 147
Where: John's room and various.
What: newbie be wandering

At first John just sat a good long while on his bed. It was typical. Though he'd thought himself well beyond the days when he was deliberately trolled by the universe at large. Once he'd stumbled into that sort of role however, the universe seemed reluctant to let him out of it.

His first impressions were poor, that is to say, if this was Mycroft's idea of trying to reconnect through enforced placement. John was going to have to have words with the elder Holmes. Currently the only Holmes, but that was another of those things that John didn't like to think about, so they got brushed back into the recesses of his mind. A much less organized place than one would think for such an upstanding and productive British citizen.

Realization gradually sank in however, this was no effort of Mycrofts to lure him into conversation by means of science experimentation.

He was well and truly stuck.

The where's and why's and how's of the matter spun John's head in circles until it was clear that no matter how often he tried, he was not going to deduce any answers from what was inside his conveniently labeled room. Other minds might prove better at that task, but it was always in John's nature to go and look, even if he might not know what it was he was looking for. Or at.

John H. Watson was the picture of polite curiosity, finding no one outside his room to stop him. He wandered freely.

Comments

[hung_garian]

Fortunately for John's curiosity (or perhaps really not), Gabriel was a very, very bored celestial being at that particular time. And, well, at most times - one would have thought immortality would lead to some level of patience, but in this case, apparently not. And when Gabriel got bored, his first recourse was to go and bother people. Not any people in particular, just whoever was unlucky enough to run into him, and in this case, John was that poor unfortunate soul.

"Haven't seen you around here before."

It was practically an accusation, in tone at least. Others might have started with an introduction or a polite 'how d'you do', but matters of common courtesy were presumably below his dignity. Gabriel looked him up and down with no attempt at subtlety - not flirtatious, not even really interested, just a hint of a near-paradoxical bored curiosity, in the way one might cast an apathetic glance at the weather or the front page of a newspaper.

"You new? Or just a recluse?"

[somereliance]

Fortunately for John's sense of sanity, or unfortunately that he kept getting into these situations, he was sort of used to being the object of curiosity. Albeit, most tended to size him up rather quickly and then pass on by. He would admit that it was probably tied into the general height factor, but that would require admitting that he was short, and John took great pains to avoid acknowledging a truth he didn't particularly care to see.

"Do they have to be mutually exclusive?" It was the first, obviously. One did not have the sort of easy going smile that came from a social nature by being reclusive.

"New then. If that matters."

Not that he knew where 'here' was. Except that strange message left on that phone.

Not his phone, but a new one, not a model that John was familiar with.

[hung_garian]

"Huh."

He didn't sound impressed. He didn't look it either, for that matter - but, well, that was about usual for Gabriel. 'Mercurial' was the polite way of putting it; the less polite way was that he tended to see-saw between extremes of hyperactivity and boredom like a small child with a sugar problem. That was probably because he was a small child with a sugar problem.

"You're part of a pretty small batch, this time around. Maybe you're special... ooooor maybe they just got lazy. Given the evidence so far, I'd personally go for lazy, but hey - don't judge a book, and all that. Who knows, you might not be a complete waste of space. You got a name? Or am I gonna have to call you variations on 'newbie' for the rest of your stay? Cause fair warning, it'll make me sound like a teenager playing Call of Duty, and nobody wants that."

Not that it would make much difference if John did tell him - Gabriel more or less viewed using someone's given name as a last resort - but it was good to know. It helped with making up silly nicknames, for one thing.

[somereliance]

Heaven save John from certain bored and unimpressed types. Which would be a lot funnier if more of the facts were known. But as they stood, other than getting an odd sense of deja vu, John wasn't going to mention any particular expertise in dealing with overgrown children.

He did offer a hand to shake however.

"John Watson, at your service." Only. Not quite. But it was the thing to say.

Far be it from them to descend into Call of Duty. It wasn't as it John didn't know how to waste his hours on games with the best of them. He generally stayed away from first person shooters though. One, because there was no sense in showing off in pixelations, and two, escapism was better done in extremes.

[hung_garian]

If any resemblance to Sherlock seemed to be there, it wouldn't last. Although there were a few similarities (particularly in terms of childishness), under most circumstances it wouldn't take anyone long to realise that if Gabriel were to be compared to someone from John's world it would be Moriarty, not Holmes.

"Enchanté." But, because he could be polite (sometimes), he shook the profferred hand. "I'm Gabriel. Not at your service or anyone else's, typically, but I have been known to offer three wishes to anyone who rubs my lamp."

He stuck his hands back into his jacket pockets, and maintained a neutral expression. While he wasn't known for subtlety, not by a long stretch, he did occasionally find it more entertaining to let people work out for themselves whether or not all his innuendo was intentional.

"So, Johnny - settling in?"

[somereliance]

The overwhelming urge to wash his hand just hits John then. To be fair, he gets this urge a lot when dealing with patients, it's just one of those things. But if Gabriel meant to instill a bit of discomfort in the greenhorn, he certainly succeeded. Obviously John tries to play the comment off. He's not a child and it's all good.

"As much as can be expected." Settling in really wasn't the first thing that he planned on. Finding answers, if there were any to be found. Finding a way out, which seemed unlikely to be easy either. Last of, finding something to fill his stomach, because he was really only human.

"This place, it's not really.. I'm not in England anymore, am I?"

[hung_garian]

If he'd known about the urge, he'd have been disappointed that John had resisted in. Gabriel's 'flirting' (or however else his inappropriateness was interpreted) was invariably motivated primarily by his fondness for getting reactions out of people. While he was by no means averse to people responding positively, he found shock and revulsion much more entertaining.

"Didja just get that, Dorothy?" He deliberately played up the Southern twang to his accent, though thankfully he went back to his normal (though still strongly American) voice after that one sentence. "Course, we could be in England. Personally I don't think so - it doesn't rain often enough, for one thing - but even if it is, somehow I doubt it's got much in common with the England you're used to."

[wolfofmidgard]

Meja doesn't wander, exactly, these days. The corridors change and she seriously doubts there's any point to mapping them out. Early on, she'd tried to make heads or tails of them; exploration was a natural curiosity of hers. Now, she leaves that to other interested parties, and splits her time between her room, the hydroponics lab, and the library. It 'helps' that she spent an agonizing few days in a corridor, debilitated by anger and frustration and not wanting to lash out at anyone else, and has had her fill of them for a while.

She's leaving the hydroponics lab when she spots John. Now that's an explorer if she's ever seen one. And not a face she recognizes, though at the moment that's not too unusual. They've been getting a lot of newcomers, lately. Her clothes and armor are currently glamoured to something familiar to him, at least, rather than the Asgardian garments that they are underneath the magic. Though there's only a few limited ways to properly glamour her white cloak, which currently resembles a long white coat.

"Hello," she greets him, with a smile. Even after all this time, she still has her Norwegian accent. "New around here?"

[somereliance]

John had been in deep observance of the walls. Or, to be more accurate, he was attempting to glean information from said observance. The only thing he could come up with however; was that this place was no longer in use for whatever it had been intended for. A sort of melancholic haunting struck him at seeing the decline of a well made building.

Which was why, he really only caught the flash of white coat at first. White coats of course, making him think of lab coats, and lab coats usually meant some kind of authority.

Which was why, when John turned to face the other person, his expression was just shy of aggravated. He intended to tell this scientist just what he thought about being taken unwilling for experimentation...

John blinked however, upon facing a lovely and kind looking woman. Aggression fading quickly and ruefulness coming to replace it.

"Very new, I'm afraid."

[wolfofmidgard]

Meja raised a brow, watching his expression shift, but kept smiling, glad that her weapons were also glamoured. They weren't very comforting; she'd learned that with Garrett, and with many rescue operations she'd done before while in the Nine Realms. Being brand new in the Center and faced with an armed person, regardless of the fact that she didn't intend to use them on anyone if she could help it, was jarring at best.

"Ah. In that case, welcome to the Science Center. Such as it is. I'm afraid to say that we're all stuck here, for the time being, until we find a way out. Are you all right? Sometimes people show up injured."

[somereliance]

The inclusive language put John more at ease than he even realized. It was nice to hear that someone was with him in this strange situation. Even if this person was a complete and total stranger.

"Injured? No, I'm fine." Disturbing as that thought was. Were people sometimes taking in a violent manner? John couldn't say that his capture had been like that. He didn't remember it at all. He just.. woke up here.

He suspected drugs, of course.

"Are people looking, for a way out?"

[wolfofmidgard]

She herself had been lucky enough to arrive without injury, as well, though it still hadn't been pleasant to be abruptly separated from Yggdrasil. But she was now, more or less, able to put that ache to the back of her mind. Sometimes she even forgot about it, if she was busy enough. Just one more reason to keep doing things, rather than sit around.

Not that she was given to sitting around, generally speaking.

"Looking. No luck yet. Someone found a window and got out, awhile back, but evidently... the forest is about as welcoming as these corridors." Meja offered an apologetic smile. It wasn't the best news to greet someone with. But she was hopeful that they'd find a way out, eventually. She held out a hand. "I'm Meja, by the way."

[somereliance]

The good doctor was not one to ignore a politeness offered, and he reached out to shake Meja's hand, adding a warm smile to the mix.

"John, please."

Nicknames were not really his cup of tea, and he'd already gathered a few already this morning. Was it morning? He couldn't be sure of the exact time.

"A forest you say?" Well that was not going to do him much good. London city boy really had no place in the woods.

[wolfofmidgard]

Meja nodded. "It surrounds the building. I'm not certain if there's a window anywhere here, but I could show you the hydroponics lab. You can see it from there."

The mistletoe hybrid was, finally, under control, and confined to its own corner until the Valkyrie could figure out what to do with it. It wasn't dangerous, but even Meja had grown weary of feeling the same chemical happiness whenever she'd stepped into the room.

[heavensmostadorable]

It's not uncommon anymore to run into strangers in the hallway, what with the much closer quarters they're all in now compared to the town they'd lived in before the earthquakes, though Samandriel has yet to do so. Or, well, had yet to do so before today.

The noise in the hallway is what draws his attention in the beginning. Perhaps noises that might go missed by those without a sharp ear, but celestial being and all, he catches things others miss. He's in his room when he hears the footsteps outside the door, ones that don't sound to have any intended direction; the sound of someone wandering quite aimlessly, if he had to guess. Curious, he doesn't stop himself from opening the door and peeking out at the man in the halls.

"Do you need any help?" He inquires after a moment or two of observation which tells him that John must be new. He has that curious look about him, as most often do on their first days in the building. The least that the littlest angel could do is offer some help, right? Or course, it helps a little that he's bored, but...it's the thought that counts?

[somereliance]

He was beginning to wonder if he'd gotten turned around. Certain of the way he'd come, when John had doubled back on a whim, he found himself not any closer to 'his' room. But rather in a new hallway entirely.

Well bugger that.

The unexpected voice pulled John's attention back around and he raises his hand in a half sort of greeting. Some of the people here were a bit strange, as John had so recently discovered. But he was always willing to give the benefit of the doubt.

"I may. I seem to be lost."

[heavensmostadorable]

"If it seems that way, then you likely are. It's a difficult task to not get lost here." Even for those who have been here since the move. Even for an angel. It's really the most infuriating thing about the building. Just wait until the rooms change locations on you...

A small, albeit friendly smile spreads across Samandriel's face, and he steps out of the doorway, giving John a quick glance over. Even if he still hasn't met all of the people here, he's seen some, passed them in the halls, but John is completely unfamiliar.

"You must be new." He doesn't bother to make it a question. "Where were you hoping to go? I'm sure I can get you there."

[somereliance]

"Big place then?" He hadn't gotten to see much, in spite of walking for what seemed like hours. Really it couldn't have been that long at all.

"I think I must be wearing a sign." John returned the smile with one of his own. He didn't actually mind that it was obvious he was brand new, just off the bus. He wondered if he would be able to recognize that in someone else, and odds were good that he would.

Though he had been trying to get back to his room, he thought of a better destination. "Kitchen, I mean. Is there one open?"

[labyrinthrunner]

Sarah walked a lot. Every day she tried to find a way to escape. To get back to the Labyrinth and her brother.

Today the teenager was walking down the hallway, her fingers trailing the halls for any hidden openings. She wasn't looking too carefully where she was going, so she had no idea there was a gentleman coming around the corner at the exact moment she was until she bumped into him.

"OUCH! Look out!" Sarah cried as she stepped back.

[somereliance]

"I'm so sorry, pardon me."

John was also stepping back. Teenagers. He really didn't know what to make of them. Finding no trouble with adults, or adults that acted like children. Watson was less children savvy than he was just half decent at wrangling the fully grown and developed immature person. He was entirely not prepared for children that acted like adults that acted like children. Which was the label of all teenagers of his acquaintance before.

[labyrinthrunner]

He was so polite that she realized perhaps she was being more rude than necessary.

"Sorry... should have... I was trying to get back..."

She shook her head to clear it. Now that she was shaken out of her reverie, she was remembering proper human interaction.

"I'm Sarah."

[somereliance]

"John." Well. This one seemed normal enough, and that was a bit of a nice change.

"Stuck here too?" He chuckled a little and looked around.

"I just woke up and started wandering. Haven't found a way out yet."

[labyrinthrunner]

"You just got here?" she asked, looking wary. Mainly, she was wondering at what point he turn all adult like and tell her she was doing something wrong.

"I've been here a few days. Still trying to find my way back to the Labyrinth. People keep telling me I can't... but this place... it's too similar."

[somereliance]

"Just, this morning." It seemed like longer to John, but then again, odd situations did tend to bring on a different feeling of timing.

"Might be easier if they put up signs for direction."

[labyrinthrunner]

"Course it would, but I don't know if they can or would put up signs for somewhere completely different." She looked around. "I don't like it here. Everything keeps moving. I never know where I am or how to get back to where I started from. I feel like I should carry a spool of thread with me or something."